How do I teach my white family that Black Lives Matter? Let me introduce myself-My name is Acquaah, I am twelve years old. My father is from Uganda and my mom hails from Kansas. I am sure that you have figured it out by now that I am a biracial person. I am involved in a kerfuffle. Kerfuffle is one of my favorite spelling words. My teacher is creative when it comes to new spelling words.

I am experiencing two heavy duty problems. I am unable to decide which is more important. So I will just shove on and talk about them. My mom and I have moved back to her home town of Inman, Kansas. My parents are divorced and I don’t see my father at all. We live in an all-white neighborhood and my school is all white. During family holidays I am the only person of color there. All my relatives say, “we don’t see color”. These words make me feel more separate from everyone at the party. Sometimes my grandfather makes racists comments. I want to confront him, but I am too nervous to do it. I want my mom to help me confront him. When my mom and I are alone we talk about my grandpa. She says that he loves me no matter what he says. This is hard for me to believe. I want him to love the Black part of me too.

At school people say to me you have nice clothes, but your hair is weird. Do you wash it? How can you be half African, do you speak African? I want to yell at them and tell them there are many languages and dialects spoken in Africa. I want to tell my mom that my teacher wants me to talk about the inner city and how hard it is for urban kids. She also wants me to talk about slavery. Ugh! I want this to stop. I begged my mom to talk to my teacher about who she thinks I am and where I lived before. My mother is reluctant to talk to my teacher. I think my mom is embarrassed because she agrees with the people who say racism is a sticky subject. These people generally say” Oh, I’m not racist” if you bring up the subject of racism. I know that my mom loves me, but I don’t think she is strong enough to fight for me as a Black person.

I have some options: Wait six years until college; Go to boarding school or ask my father if I can live with him. If I choose to live with my father, would I be able to adjust and live without my mom? I have researched boarding schools for children of color and they are mostly on the east coast. I understand that no situation is perfect, but I need a release from the stereotyping, questioning and assumptions about me. How will I cope being away from my Kansas family? Waiting until college would be too difficult. I need to be with people who at least have a glimmer of understanding that Black Lives Matter. I respect that I am of two cultures, however I long for both parts of me to be respected by my teachers, grandparents and school friends. To be continued……